The Queenstown Lakes District Council yesterday unanimously approved a $500,000 grant and bridging loan towards the Memorial Hall upgrade project, but only after a lengthy debate.
The one-off grant will enable the Memorial Hall Trust to reapply for funding from the Lotteries Commission, which declined an application for $800,000 worth of funding due to insufficient monetary input from the council.
Cr Jude Battson said the Lotteries Commission had done the council a favour in returning the application and giving it "an instruction" to reapply before the next deadline later today.
The hall trust requested the council approve a grant be taken from the unallocated portion of the Queenstown Airport Corporation dividend.
Half of the forecast $2.5 million dividend has been allocated for debt repayment, but the trust said both the grant and a bridging loan of $300,000 could be taken from the remaining $1.25 million.
Councillor John Mann said there was "an inter-generational aspect" if the request was confirmed, since "today's ratepayer will be paying for it" [the upgrade] when ratepayers in 15 years were also expected to benefit.
Acting chief executive Stewart Burns disagreed and said there had been a large amount of deferred maintenance.
Although all councillors supported the upgrade, the contentious issue was where the money would come from and whether the decision should be made with "expediency", a term used by Trevor Tattersfield.
Both Crs Mann and Simon Stamers-Smith had concerns with the quick pace and the perceived lack of consultation with the public regarding the spending.
Stewart Burns said 86% of respondents were not opposed to using the funds but Cr Mann questioned how much of the community this gauged.
"You may be relying on the opinions of 66 individuals to spend half a million dollars," Cr Mann said.
Cr Stamers-Smith said, "I think it's a very poor way to do this."
Mayor Vanessa van Uden said Mr Burns was trying to say there was clearly not substantial community opposition, "so that leaves it open to us to make a decision".
With a budget of $3 million, the "grandiose" nature of the upgrade was questioned by Cr Stamers-Smith, who was told by the mayor and Cr Cath Gilmour it was far from "gold-plated".
The decision was witnessed by various groups and individuals, and those who spoke were all in favour of the council increasing funding.
Queenstown RSA president Dave Geddes said the association served the wider community, who had "made it clear that the Memorial Hall is in need of some TLC".
Professional singer and singing teacher Sue Patterson said the hall was not an acoustic venue and she had "never been in such an appalling venue".
